Wyoming Representative Introduces Legislation For A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

A bill that would allow Wyoming’s state government to invest a portion of its Permanent Mineral Trust Fund in Bitcoin has been introduced in the state House.

House Bill 184, introduced by Rep. Jacob Wasserburger, would allow the State Treasurer to invest up to 5% of the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund in Bitcoin. The fund is currently valued at around $8.2 billion.

The bill defines “digital asset” as “an electronic record in which the ownership interest is represented by a private cryptographic key, or a public cryptographic key linked to the private cryptographic key, and the electronic record is designed to be transferred, recorded, or accessed on a distributed ledger.”

The bill would also require the State Treasurer to develop a plan for investing in Bitcoin, which would include a risk assessment and a strategy for managing the investment.

The bill is the latest in a series of efforts by Wyoming lawmakers to integrate cryptocurrencies into the state’s financial system. In 2021, Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill that created a legal framework for decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs.